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Biography and Memoir January 2020
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| The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire by Francesca Cartier BrickellWhat it is: a sweeping family history of French jewelry dynasty the Cartiers, from their humble 19th-century Parisian beginnings to their contemporary status as purveyors of globally-renowned luxury goods.
Read it for: the glitz, the glamour, and the gossip.
Author alert: Francesca Cartier Brickell is the great-granddaughter of Louis-François Cartier, who founded the eponymous company in 1847. |
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Hill women : finding family and a way forward in the Appalachian Mountains
by Cassie Chambers
Nestled in the Appalachian mountains, Owsley County is the poorest county in Kentucky and the second poorest in the country. Buildings are crumbling and fields sit vacant, as tobacco farming and coal mining decline. But strong women are finding creative ways to subsist in their hollers in the hills. Cassie Chambers grew up amidst these hollers, and through the women who raised her, she traces her own path out of and back into the Kentucky mountains. With her "hill women" values guiding her, Cassie went on to graduate from Harvard Law. But while the Ivy League gave her knowledge and opportunities, its privileged world felt far from her reality, and she moved back home to help her fellow rural Kentucky women by providing free legal services. Appalachian women face issues that are all too common: domestic violence, the opioid crisis, a world that seems more divided by the day. But they are also community leaders, keeping their towns together in the face of a system that continually fails them. With nuance and heart, Cassie uses these women's stories paired with her own journey to break down the myth of the "hillbilly" and illuminate a region whose poor communities, especially women, can lead it into the future.
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| Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give by Ada CalhounWhat it is: an expansion of Ada Calhoun's 2015 essay "The Wedding Toast I'll Never Give," originally published in the New York Times' Modern Love column.
What's inside: a funny and insightful exploration of marriage -- both Calhoun's own and the concept itself -- aided by extensive research and interviews with couples, scholars, and clergy.
Who it's for: Newlyweds and longtime spouses alike will appreciate this engaging collection blending personal reflections with frank advice. |
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